The discussion that follows is intended solely as background information to assist in the understanding of the invention herein; nothing in this section is intended to be, nor is it to be construed as, prior art to this invention.
Until the mid-1980s, the accepted treatment for atherosclerosis, i.e., narrowing of the coronary artery(ies), was coronary by-pass surgery. While effective and evolved to a relatively high degree of safety for such an invasive procedure, by-pass surgery still involves serious potential complications, and in the best of cases, an extended recovery period.
With the advent of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in 1977, the scene changed dramatically. Using catheter techniques originally developed for heart exploration, inflatable balloons were employed to re-open occluded regions in arteries. The procedure was relatively non-invasive, took a very short time compared to by-pass surgery and the recovery time was minimal. However, PTCA brought with it another problem, elastic recoil of the stretched arterial wall which could undo much of what was accomplished and, in addition, PTCA failed to satisfactorily ameliorate another problem, restenosis, the re-clogging of the treated artery.
The next improvement, advanced in the mid-1980s, was use of a stent to hold the vessel walls open after PTCA. This for all intents and purposes put an end to elastic recoil but did not entirely resolve the issue of restenosis. That is, prior to the introduction of stents, restenosis occurred in 30-50% of patients undergoing PTCA. Stenting reduced this to about 15-30%, much improved but still more than desirable.
In 2003, the drug-eluting stent (DES) was introduced. The drugs initially employed with the DES were cytostatic compounds, compounds that curtailed the proliferation of cells that contributed to restenosis. As a result, restenosis was reduced to about 5-7%, a relatively acceptable figure. Today, the DES is the default industry standard for the treatment of atherosclerosis and is rapidly gaining favor for treatment of stenoses of blood vessels other than coronary arteries such as peripheral angioplasty of the popliteal artery.
The DESs used today have a drug-polymer coating on the exterior surface of the stent. The inclusion of the drug in a polymer matrix allows for sustained delivery over time. One of the limitations of DES is the amount of drug that may be contained in a coating on a device. Another potential drawback is that the polymers used in the coating may contribute to an inflammatory response when the stent is implanted. Depending on the mechanical properties of the coating, it may become damaged during aggressive delivery procedures such as treating calcified lesions, or delivering the DES through a previously deployed stent. Also, the crimping of a DES onto a delivery device, such as the balloon of a catheter, must be done carefully to avoid damaging the coating.
Some alternatives to DES are stents with depots or channels in the structural elements, or struts, of the stent, or stents with some structural elements that are hollow tubes. Therapeutic agents or a composition including therapeutic agents may fill the interior of the hollow tube or a channel or depots. However, there are a number of challenges involved with filling such a hollow stent or depots with a composition including a therapeutic agent.
There is a continuing need for methods of filling the interior of a hollow structural element of a stent and one or more types of apparatus that may be used in such methods.